1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooling, heating and drying systems using a vortex tube as a source for energy separation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known to use a vortex tube for energy separation when the vortex tube is fed with a compressible fluid under positive (i.e., above atmospheric) pressure. Such a method is harnessed in a system and comprises a source of the compressed fluid connected with a vortex tube. In the vortex tube, the initial flow is transformed into two separate currents of different energy (a cold and a hot fraction) leaving the vortex tube separately under pressure which is less than the inlet pressure but at a pressure still above atmospheric.
A vortex tube comprises a slender tube with a diaphragm closing one end of the tube provided with a small hole in the center of the diaphragm, one or more tangential nozzles piercing the tube just inside of the diaphragm, and a controlled discharge opening such as throttle valve or any other restrictive body at the far or other end of the slender tube.
Since the disclosure of an early vortex tube design disclosed by Ranque in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,952,281 there have been many other inventors working in the field of vortex tube design; nevertheless, all of them have considered a vortex tube as a device whose function is to receive a flow of compressed gas through the tangential nozzles and to discharge a stream of cold gas, expanded to some positive pressure gas through a small hole in the diaphragm, and to discharge a stream of hot gas simultaneously through the valve. Both of the discharged gas streams from the vortex tube have a positive pressure.
In a vast majority of industrial applications of the vortex tube, a compressor is used as a source of its feeding flow. However, this creates problems which often make it difficult or even restrict these applications. In particular, there is quite a customary situation when a variety of relatively small vortex tube's based devices, such as cooling computer cabinets and/or personal heat relieve systems located in different places of an office in which different areas or spaces have to be fed with the compressed air. In this case, it is necessary to develop a sophisticated and expensive piping network throughout the building in addition to providing for the compressor installation.
On the other hand, should a compressor be incorporated into a cooling device, this requires the availability of a compressor's inter and/or after cooling system, in order to prevent a vortex feed from overheating. In the absence of such a system, which is typical for portable compressors, it has become necessary to provide a special heat exchanger and a separator prior to applying the gas before the vortex tube's nozzles.
Also, noise generated by the compressed gas expanding in the vortex tube causes a serious inconvenience for the environment, and thus requires a special adjustment of the vortex tube such as providing mufflers, or other sound absorbers, etc., which, however are able to reduce but not completely exclude such inconvenience.
It is therefore an object of this invention to avoid the above mentioned problems and disadvantages.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new method of vortex energy separation.